erika miller spoke with retail expert dana telsey and began by asking what happened. >> i think there were a confluence of events, extra long season. hurricane sandy. tragedy in ct. >> none of the events out there were feel good factor events. it was all for consumer morale. >> when you look at the weakness this holiday season, how much of the blame do you put on retailers for not having inspiring merchandise and how much of it are just factors beyond their control like the economy and the fiscal cliff? >> i think overall it was more probably 70 to 80% factors beyond the retailer's control. i think retailers had creative merchandise but i think the news didn't lead to a feel good factor. >> in any economy, good or bad, you always have some winners. who did really well this year? >> well, it looks like in terms of who did well so far, companies like american eagle outfitters limited, michael cors, macy's' tj and i would say costco was also a winner. >> on the flip side were there retailers that you had high hopes for going into the season but just didn't deliver in the end. >> certainl